Environment and Sustainability (ENVS)

ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY (ENVS)

The Environment and Sustainability Program focuses on the interactions of humans and the natural environment. Specifically, the Program studies the structure and function of natural systems, examines how social, political, and economic activity impacts those systems, and experiments with resilient solutions to unsustainable human impacts.

Goals of the Environment and Sustainability Program include:

•Applying the knowledge and methods of natural sciences to understand and analyze environmental problems and solutions.

Students have two options for a comprehensive major: a 62-credit Water Emphasis or the 57-credit Individualized Contract.

WATER EMPHASIS

A minimum of 62 credits is required.

ENVS 100 Introduction to Environment and Sustainability

3 cr

PHYS 125 Energy and the Environment

3 cr

BIOL 130 Environmental Biology

3 cr

BIOL 135 Environmental Biology Lab

1 cr

GEOL 101 Physical Geology

3 cr

GEOL 105 Physical Geology Lab

1 cr

ENVS 200 Writing the Environment

3 cr

ECON 215 Environmental Economics

3 cr

ENVS 301 Science of Sustainability and Resilience

3 cr

GEOG 340 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

3 cr

ENVS 350 U.S. & Western Environmental Politics

3 cr

ENVS 370 Water Policy and Politics

3 cr

ENVS 373 The Water Planet

3 cr

ENVS 375 Seminar in Water Topics

1-3 cr

ENVS 376 The Colorado Water Workshop

1 cr

ENVS 390 Environmental Monitoring

4 cr

ENVS 400 Applied Sustainability

3 cr

ENVS 410 Environmental Ethics

3 cr

One of the following:

HWTR 200 This Is the Headwaters

1 cr

HWTR 398 Headwaters Conference

1 cr

One of the following:

ECON 216 Statistics for Business and Economics

3 cr

MATH 113 Statistical Thinking

3 cr

MATH 213 Probability and Statistics

3 cr

SOC 211 Quantitative Research Methods

3 cr

Two of the following:

ROE 293 Outdoor Pursuits Education—Water Based

3 cr

ECON 370 Natural Resource Economics

3 cr

ENVS 360 Global Environmental Policy

3 cr

BUAD 410 Water and Environmental Law

3 cr

BIOL 476 Aquatic Ecology (with Lab)

4 cr

One of the following:

ENVS 420 Natural History of the Gunnison Basin

3 cr

ENVS 430 Watersheds of the World

3 cr

ENVS 499 Environmental Studies Internship

3-6 cr

Admission to Recreation and Outdoor Education courses for declared Water Emphasis students is based on instructor permission and available seats.

INDIVIDUALIZED CONTRACT EMPHASIS

This Emphasis allows students to design a curriculum in consultation with an Environment and Sustainability advisor and with the approval of the Environment and Sustainability Council. A minimum of 57 credits is required including the 39-credit Standard Major. Proposals for an Individualized Contract should be developed before the second semester of the junior year, and applicants must have a minimum of a 3.200 GPA in the major and a 3.000 overall GPA. Consult an Environment and Sustainability advisor for details.

Environment and Sustainability and Business Administration Coordinated Double Major:

If a student elects to complete an Environment and Sustainability Major: Standard Program and the coordinated Business Administration Major: Standard Program, the student must take ECON 202 Microeconomics instead of ECON 215 Environmental Economics; and ENVS 360 Global Environmental Policy must be elected. ECON 216 must be elected, with MATH 140 as its prerequisite.

The Environmental Management emphasis allows students to complete the B.A. in Environment and Sustainability (ENVS) and the Master in Environmental Management (MEM) at Western in five years. To remain qualified for the 3+2, upon earning 66 credits each student must have:

maintained a 3.0 cumulative GPA and a 3.25 GPA within the major;

earned a B or above in two social science, two natural science (one with lab), and one statistics course;

fulfilled the 3-credit Internship requirement with a B or above and positive letter from the project sponsor;

provided three letters of recommendation, at least one of which is to be a professional reference and at least one of which is to be an academic reference from the student’s major at Western;

written a Statement of Purpose to the MEM program, detailing early career ambitions and ideas and connections for the eventual master’s Project.

At this point, if any aspect of a student’s performance is found to be insufficient, the MEM Director may reject a 3+2 student from the MEM program, in which case the student will need to find a new emphasis or minor in order to complete the undergraduate degree. Upon meeting the requirements above, and after Junior Year (reaching 91 credits in this plan—see “MAJOR MAP” at western.edu/3_2) holding to the same GPA and general performance standards outlined above, the School of Graduate Studies will designate students as “MEM candidates with provisional acceptance.” Upon completion of the final 29 credits of the Western B.A. in Year Four of this plan, the School of Graduate Studies will designate students as “MEM degree seeking students.” Students who have completed all other requirements of the 3+2 program and all Western undergraduate requirements, yet choose to leave the MEM program before Year 5, will still have completed the undergraduate emphasis in Environmental Management and have earned the 120 credits necessary for a Western undergraduate degree.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT EMPHASIS (WITH A 3+2 MEM)

A minimum of 65 credits is required for the B.A. components of the emphasis.

ENVS 100 Introduction to Environment & Sustainability

3 cr

ENVS 200 Writing the Environment

3 cr

ENVS 301 Science of Sustainability and Resilience

3 cr

ENVS 350 U.S. and Western Environmental Politics

3 cr

ENVS 390 Environmental Monitoring

4 cr

ENVS 400 Applied Sustainability

3 cr

ENVS 410 Environmental Ethics

3 cr

ENVS 499 Internship in Environment & Sustainability

3 cr

Required supporting courses:

BIOL 130 Environmental Biology

3 cr

BIOL 135 Environmental Biology Lab

1 cr

ECON 215 Environmental Economics

3 cr

PHYS 125 Energy and the Environment

3 cr

One of the following:

ENVS 360 Global Environmental Policy

3 cr

ENVS 370 Water Policy and Politics

3 cr

GEOG 340 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

3 cr

One of the following:

HWTR 200 This Is the Headwaters

1 cr

HWTR 398 Headwaters Conference

1 cr

One of the following:

ECON 216 Statistics for Business and Economics

3 cr

MATH 113 Statistical Thinking

3 cr

MATH 213 Probability and Statistics

3 cr

SOC 211 Quantitative Research Methods

3 cr

Core MEM Courses

ENVS 601 Introduction to Environmental Management

5 cr

ENVS 605 Science of Environmental Management

3 cr

ENVS 608 Environmental Politics and Policy

3 cr

ENVS 611 Integrative Skills for Environmental Management

3 cr

ENVS 612 Quantitative Skills for Environmental Management

3 cr

ENVS 615 Science of Climate Mitigation and Adaptation

3 cr

One of the following from the MEM Emphases:

Sustainable and Resilient Communities Emphasis:

ENVS 616 Environmental Organizational Development and Management

3 cr

Global Sustainability Emphasis:

ENVS 617 Global Sustainability

3 cr

Integrative and Public Land Management Emphasis:

ENVS 618 Public Lands Management

3 cr

Upon successful completion of the prescribed courses listed above, University defined General Education, and elective requirements totaling 120 credits (with 40 at the 300-level or higher), students are eligible for their B.A. conferral. Students electing to complete MEM must follow the balance of their declared emphasis curriculum: